Public Service Health Care Plan travel and emergency assistance benefits

From: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Table of contents

Phone Numbers

North America: 1-833-774-2700
(toll-free)

International: 1-365-337-7427
(collect)

Mailing Address
MSH International (Canada) Ltd
PO Box 4903 STN A
Toronto, ON, Canada, M5W 0B1

Email Addresses
General: assist@pshcp-msh.ca
To submit a claim: claim@pshcp-msh.ca


The following benefits are available only to plan members with Supplementary coverage, living in Canada and their eligible dependants.

Travel Benefit

The Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) covers you and your dependants for up to $1 million each in eligible medical expenses incurred as a result of an emergency while traveling on vacation or business. This coverage continues for up to 40 days after departure from your province of residence, excluding any time out of the province for business on official travel status.

Emergency Travel Assistance Benefit

With the Emergency Travel Assistance Benefit, you receive around-the-world services through MSH International, a company that specializes in providing emergency medical and general travel assistance for travelers.

24-Hour Help Line

If emergency assistance is needed, a 24-hour help line is available. Multilingual coordinators can access a worldwide network of professionals who offer help with medical, legal, or other travel-related emergencies. Call the 24-hour toll-free number:

  • 1-833-774-2700 in North America (toll-free)
  • or call collect 1-365-337-7427 in all other countries.

The 24-hour help line will also:

  • help you find a local legal advisor
  • provide interpretation services by telephone
  • provide medical referrals and monitoring
  • assist you with benefit coverage enquiries
  • provide verification of coverage to providers (letter of guarantee)

Medical Evacuation

The Emergency Travel Assistance Benefit provides medical evacuation when suitable care is not available in the area where the emergency occurred. The coordinators will arrange to have you or a covered dependant moved to the nearest hospital that provides the appropriate medical care, or will provide transportation back to Canada.

Advance Payment Assistance

Coverage under the PSHCP and the applicable provincial/territorial health plan will be verified so that the hospital and/or medical payments can be paid on your behalf. If hospitalized, contact the 24-hour help line immediately. Have your personal Public Service Health Care Plan number and certificate number available.

If payments are made on your behalf, you will be expected to sign an authorization form allowing MSH International to recover the advance from the provincial/territorial health care plan.

Family Assistance

Return of Dependent Children

If covered dependent children under age 16 are left unattended because you or your spouse are hospitalized, the coordinators will arrange and pay for transportation of these children and an escort, if necessary, to your home.

Return of Other Family Members

If covered family members are hospitalized, and as a result not able to return home on the originally scheduled flight, requiring the family members to purchase new return tickets, you will be reimbursed for the cost of replacing economy air fare.

Visit of a Relative

If you or your covered dependants become hospitalized for more than 7 days while traveling alone, the Emergency Travel Assistance Benefit will pay for economy air fare, plus meals and accommodation up to $200 per day, for an immediate relative. This benefit will also be paid if it is necessary for a family member to identify the deceased prior to the release of the body.

Meals and Accommodation

If your trip is extended because a covered family member is hospitalized, the Emergency Travel Assistance Benefit will cover the additional expenses incurred by accompanying covered family members for accommodation and meals, up to a maximum of $200 per day.

The combined maximum payable for Family Assistance Benefits is $5,000 per travel emergency.

In the Event of Death

The coordinators will arrange for the return of a deceased family member to your province of residence, reimbursing you up to a maximum of $3,000 towards the cost of the preparation and transportation of the deceased.

All payments made under the Emergency Travel Assistance Benefits are subject to the $1 million maximum.

(See next for exclusions)

Exclusions

No benefit is payable for:

  • expenses incurred for an emergency that occurs more than 40 days after departure from the participant’s province of residence, excluding any time out of the province for business on official travel status
  • expenses incurred on a non-emergency basis
  • expenses for the regular treatment of an injury or disease which existed prior to your or your covered dependant’s departure
  • expenses above reasonable and customary charges
  • expenses related to extending a trip to quarantine or self-isolate outside a hospital, including for COVID-19
  • expenses incurred under any of the conditions that are listed as an exclusion under the Extended Health Care Plan

Assistance services are not available in countries that are classified as “Avoid All Travel” on the Government of Canada’s official source of Travel Advice and Advisories. Please note that this list changes from time to time in accordance with world conditions.

Submitting a claim

Online

To submit a claim online, create an account on the MSH Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) Member Portal using the same email address and date of birth that is on file with Canada Life.

Note that you may not be able to register for the MSH PSHCP Member Portal for 48 hours after completing positive enrolment with Canada Life.

Once you create your account, you can submit claims online using the dedicated portal. Emails received from MSH in response to claim submissions are encrypted and will have the subject line “Proofpoint - MSH INTERNATIONAL on behalf of PSHCP Claims”.

By mail

To submit a claim by mail, download a paper claim form from the MSH PSHCP Member Portal or contact the MSH PSHCP Member Contact Centre to ask that one be mailed to you. Completed claim forms should be mailed to:

MSH International (Canada) Ltd
PO Box 4903 STN A
Toronto, ON, Canada, M5W 0B1

Note

This information is produced by the Government of Canada to provide benefit and administrative information about your PSHCP. It is provided for information only. Should there be any discrepancy between this information and that contained in the PSHCP Directive, the PSHCP Directive applies.

You will be responsible for re-paying any expenses that are paid on your behalf by MSH International that are not eligible for reimbursement under the applicable provincial/territorial health plan or the Extended Health Care Plan for the PSHCP.

If eligible expenses are incurred and MSH International has not made an advanced payment on your behalf, keep a copy of your receipts and submit a claim for reimbursement to the provincial/territorial insurance plan and to the PSHCP.

The information contained here is important to you and your family and a copy should be kept in a safe place, along with your PSHCP Member booklet.

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